With a veteran group returning from last summer, the Stevens
Point Sixers American Legion baseball team will look to make a run at the
Wisconsin Valley Legion League (WVLL) Title this season.

The Sixers brought back five starters from last year’s team
that finished 15-11, while a number of reserves from a year ago have stepped
into larger roles after standout performances during the high school season
this spring.

After spending the first two weeks of this season on the
road, Point will be home for five games Fourth of July weekend, as it hosts the
44th annual Ed Kardach Firecracker Classic at Bukolt Park Friday through
Monday, July 1-4.

“It’ll be actually nice playing at home this whole weekend,”
said second-year Point manager Jason Rieck, whose team didn’t have its first
home game this season until Wednesday, June 29. “It’s always good playing in
front of your home crowd, you get more fans there for (the Firecracker), and I
think it means more to the kids.

“But we had a big win against (reigning State Runner-up)
Plover (last week), that’s the only game that we’ve had our complete team
there,” he said. “So the season looks promising when we all play together.”

The Sixers lost 2015 Wisconsin Valley Conference (WVC)
Player of the Year Noel Winch and Aaron Nickel from last season’s team that
finished 15-11 after they were eliminated from the Region 2 Regional
Tournament, but returned 12 players who saw time with the team last season.

Joining the starting lineup this season at the top of the
order is center fielder Gus Turner-Zick, a First Team All-State selection and
the WVC co-Player of the Year this spring as a junior for Stevens Point Area
Senior High School (SPASH), while outfielder Jacob Dufresne,
infielder/outfielder Nathan Olds and infielder and 2015 Legion All-Star Game
MVP Brady Erickson return to the starting lineup as 19-year-olds.

“Gus has got a lot of speed and hits it all over the field,
and it’s just a blast having a guy like him on the team as a table setter,”
said Rieck. “Some of those older guys who haven’t been playing since March,
it’s taken them a little longer to get going, but they’ve all contributed to
the team.”

Honorable Mention All-WVC shortstop Ted Kearney of SPASH is
also back as a starter, while First Team All-WVC infielder/pitcher Joe Strigel
of SPASH and First Team All-Central Wisconsin Conference-8 (CWC-8) infielder
Andy Tepp of Pacelli have earned regular roles this season.

“Teddy has put together a good season, he’s really been
hitting the ball well, and Andy too,” said Rieck. “Joe up on the mound has been
phenomenal, and he’s got a solid bat too, so we look forward to him when he’s
back playing full time with us.”

Also joining the starting lineup this season are utility
players Hunter Lodzinski of SPASH and Jacob Piotrowski of SPASH, while
infielder/pitcher and CWC-8 Player of the Year Matt Helms of Pacelli, catcher
Josh Morton of SPASH, First Team All-CWC-10 pitcher/infielder Kyle Groshek of
Rosholt, and SPASH’s Ryan Glodowski, Zach Ksicinski, Brady Franz, Tyler
Frafjord, Cole Wright, Logan Moe and Brock Caufield are also in the mix for
playing time this summer.

“Jacob didn’t play a whole lot of innings at SPASH this
year, but he’s doing a phenomenal job, and he’s a guy that we can put anywhere
in the infield and he plays great defense and always puts the bat on the ball,”
said Rieck. “Same thing with Hunter, he’s a kid that we can play anywhere,
outfield, infield, and he’ll always put the ball in play.

“So it’s nice to have a lot of those guys, a solid one
through nine in the batting order,” he said.

Leading the pitching staff are Strigel and Helms, while
Glodowski, Franz, Frafjord, Wright, Olds, Groshek and Piotrowski will also see
time on the mound.

“With our pitching depth, we’ve got a lot of guys that can
throw innings,” said Rieck. “Obviously, we have two aces from Pacelli and SPASH
with Matt and Joe, but we’ve got a lot of young guys who have a lot of talent
pitching-wise, who can come in and also throw a lot of innings and be
effective.”

The Sixers are off to a 3-5 start so far this season after
they lost at Antigo 6-5 in 11 innings Tuesday, June 28, which was their eighth
consecutive road game to start the season. Point was set to host seventh-ranked
Marshfield Wednesday, June 29, before traveling to Waupaca for a nonconference
game Thursday, June 30.

The Sixers will be back home for five games this weekend at
the 44th annual Firecracker Classic at Bukolt Park, as they will take on Beaver
Dam (5-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and then play third-ranked Beloit, which is 9-0
and has outscored its opponents by a 91-7 margin so far this season, at 7:30
p.m. Saturday, July 2.

The Sixers will also face Oshkosh at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, July
3, before they wrap up the tournament with a pair of nonconference games
against WVLL foes Monday, as they square off with D.C. Everest at 10 a.m. and
Wausau (9-7, 3-1) at 3 p.m.

“It’s a long week going ahead, we’ve got three games going
up to the weekend, and then five games over the Fourth of July weekend,” said
Rieck. “But I think the kids are excited to be back home and playing in front
of their friends and family.

“And we’re going to put together a great lineup every game that we play in,” he said. “We’re going to give
each team our best effort and hopefully come out on top.”

The race for the WVLL Title appears wide open so far this
season, as Point won at eight-time defending champion Plover 5-4 June 21 and
lost 5-1 June 17 to Marshfield (13-3), which currently sits in first place in
the WVLL with a 4-1 record ahead of Wausau (3-1), Point (2-1) and Plover (2-3).

“Every game matters in conference,” said Rieck. “Plover beat
Marshfield (4-1
June 15) and Marshfield
beat us, but I think it’s going to go to the end of the year.

“Anybody’s beatable any given night this year, it all
depends on how well they’re playing in all three aspects of the game:
defensively, offensively and pitching,” he said. “And this year, it’s a lot of
fun. Every game seems like it’s a close battle, and coming down to making every
out count.”

The Regional Tournament this season will be held July 19-23
in Marshfield, where a berth to the AAA State Tournament will be on the line,
while Rieck said he wants his team to take one game at a time going forward.

“These next two weeks, we’re playing a lot of ballgames, I
think we’ve got one or two days off, and it’s almost like a Major League
schedule,” he said. “Our conference games are all really important, and our
goal’s to go out there and win those.

“But those nonconference games are still just as important,
because you want to go out there and win every time, you want to win the
battle, whether it’s an at bat or a pitch or the game in general,” he said.
“And if we can have a little luck on our side, hopefully we can come out on top
this year and make a strong run deep into the playoffs.”

44th annual Ed Kardach Firecracker Classic at Bukolt Park

Friday, July 1

Game 1: Beloit
vs. D.C. Everest, 2:30 p.m.

Game 2: Beaver Dam vs. Beloit,
5 p.m.

Game 3: Beaver Dam vs. Stevens
Point, 7:30
p.m.

Saturday, July 2

Game 4: Beloit
vs. Oshkosh, 9:30 a.m.

Game 5: Beaver Dam vs. Wausau,
noon

Game 6: Beaver Dam vs. Oshkosh,
2:30 p.m.

Game 7: Wausau
vs. D.C. Everest, 5 p.m.

Game 8: Beloit
vs. Stevens Point,
7:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 3

Game 9: D.C. Everest vs. Beaver Dam, 10 a.m.

Game 10: Wausau
vs. Beloit, 12:30 p.m.

Game 11: Wausau
vs. Oshkosh, 3 p.m.

Game 12: Oshkosh
vs. Stevens Point,
5:30 p.m.

Monday, July 4

Game 13: D.C. Everest vs. Stevens Point, 10 a.m.

Game 14: D.C. Everest vs. Oshkosh, 12:30 p.m.

Game 15: Wausau
vs. Stevens Point,
3 p.m.